John McGiver

Infobox actor
name = John Irwin McGiver
birthdate = birth date |1913|11|5|
birthplace = New York City, New York, United States
deathdate = death date and age|1975|9|9|1913|11|5|mf=y
deathplace = West Fulton, New York
occupation = Actor
yearsactive = 1955–1975
spouse = Ruth Schmigelsky (1947–1975)

John Irwin McGiver (November 5, 1913, New York City – September 9, 1975, West Fulton, New York) was an American character actor who made more than a hundred appearances in television and motion pictures over a two-decade span from 1955 to 1975.

The owl-faced actor was known for his performances as the religious fanatic Mr. O'Daniel in the film "Midnight Cowboy"; as the kindly Tiffany's salesman in "Breakfast at Tiffany's"; and as the ill-fated, but honorable Senator Jordan in the original film version of "The Manchurian Candidate". He also appeared on many TV shows, as well as in the first of a popular series of commercials for the American Express charge card ("Do you know me?").

McGiver was born the son of Irish immigrants. [U.S. Census, Jan. 1, 1920, State of New York, County of New York, enumeration district 681, p. 15A, family 319.] He received a B.A. in English from Fordham University in 1938 and master's degrees from Columbia University and Catholic University. ["John McGiver, Actor, 62, Dies; Did TV, Film Character Roles", "New York Times", Sept. 10, 1975, p. 48.] He was an English teacher before he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army's 7th Armored Division in Europe during World War II. [National Archives and Records Administration, "U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946" [database on-line] , Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.] His stage career also began before the war, when he was an actor-director in New York's Irish Repertory Theater. ["War Provided Background For C.U. Play", "The Washington Post", June 8, 1947, p. L2.] He continued to teach English and speech at Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx, working occasionally in off-Broadway plays, until 1955, when he became a full time actor. ["John M'Giver — Teacher Who Took a Chance", "New York Times", June 1, 1958, p. X9.]

In the 1964-1965 television season, McGiver played the widower Walter Burnley, the head of the complaint department of a fictitious Los Angeles department store in the CBS sitcom "Many Happy Returns". His costars included Elinor Donahue, Mark Goddard, Mickey Manners, and Elena Verdugo.

He lived with his wife Ruth, whom he married in 1947, and ten children in West Fulton, New York, until his death of a heart attack at the age of sixty-one.

Partial Filmography

* "Love in the Afternoon" (1957) with Gary Cooper
* "I Married a Woman" (1958)
* "The Gazebo" (1960) with Glenn Ford
* "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961) with Audrey Hepburn
* "Something's Got to Give" (1962; aborted Marilyn Monroe film)
* "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation" (1962) with James Stewart
* "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) with Laurence Harvey
* "Period of Adjustment" (1962) with Tony Franciosa
* "Who's Got the Action?" (1962) with Dean Martin
* "Who's Minding the Store?" (1963) with Jerry Lewis
* "Take Her, She's Mine" (1963) with James Stewart
* "Man's Favorite Sport?" (1964)
* "A Global Affair" (1964) with Bob Hope
* Sounds and Silences (1964) Episode from The Twilight Zone
* "Mr White's Christmas" (1965) Episode from "The Rogues"
* "Marriage on the Rocks" (1965) with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin
* "The Glass Bottom Boat" (1966) with Doris Day
* "The Spirit Is Willing" (1967) with Sid Caesar
* "Fitzwilly" (1967) with Dick Van Dyke
* "Midnight Cowboy" (1969) with Jon Voight
* "Lawman" (1971) with Burt Lancaster
* "Mame" (1974) with Lucille Ball
* "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975) with Don Knotts

Television series

McGiver was a regular performer on:
* "McKeever & the Colonel", 1962–1963
* "Many Happy Returns", 1964–1965 (lead role)
* "Mr. Terrific", 1967
* "The Jimmy Stewart Show", 1971–1972

tage

Broadway theatre includes:
* "Drink to Me Only", 1958
* "A Thurber Carnival", 1960
* "The Front Page", 1969–1970

References

External links

*imdb name|0569410|John McGiver (I)
*Find A Grave|id=6752306|name=John Irwin McGiver